So Far, Filming Is Only Topic Of Debate

RICHMOND — The two gubernatorial candidates continued their debate over debates Thursday, with one making a proposal and the other attacking that offer and making a counterproposal.

Republican J. Marshall Coleman, backing down from a demand that he be allowed to film gubernatorial debates for his commercials, has offered to meet his Democratic opponent in two debates that would be televised live, statewide.

Lt. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder countered with a proposal of his own, calling for four televised debates and criticizing Coleman's proposal as a renunciation of a pledge to meet Aug. 18 in Fairfax County.

The two are statistically even in their bid for the governor's mansion, according to a poll by Mason-Dixon Opinion Research Inc. The survey of 821 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points found 43 percent for Coleman and 39 percent for Wilder, according to the Associated Press.

Coleman's latest offer came in a letter sent to Wilder on Thursday, calling for two debates, possibly in the fall. In the first the candidates would question each other. In the second, a panel of reporters would ask questions.

During a press conference, Coleman said he was dropping his demand to film their meetings "in the spirit of compromise." An aide said later, however, that Coleman would insist on being able to tape other joint appearances.

Coleman's insistance on filming debates prompted Wilder to withdraw from a session that had been scheduled last week.

Both since then have accused the other of refusing to schedule another debate for fear of being asked embarassing questions.

Wilder refused to debate Saturday, saying Coleman was violating an agreement not to film the appearance for commercial use and that his opponent wanted to film the session so he could edit or distort what was said.

Coleman's camp said there was no agreement not to film the debate.

Wilder's written response to Coleman's latest offer was to say that "once again my opponent has changed his position on debates and has broken his word."

Wilder claimed that Coleman had agreed to an Aug. 18 debate before the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce but that the Thursday proposal reneged on that. Wilder also made his own debate proposal for both to appear in televised debates in about four major media markets across the state.

Coleman's spokesman, Dennis Peterson, said Coleman never agreed to appear in the Fairfax debate.